[IC] [Rilla vs. Impaqt] The Demon Elf vs. The Prismatic Archer

[Rilla]

Fresh blood dripped down the stairs of a glass tower, the head of a mountain of a man who had come hunting him for his 'crimes and transgressions against humanity and all those associated with it'. The man, as it were, was a trainee of a master Hunter from the Hunter Company, or some such gathering of would-be assassins that thought it would be appropriate to send a novice after the Devil Elf Elite.

What cocky fools.

Now, he had caught whiff of another man coming to hunt him - and he would be well prepared. His counter hunting had taken him to a place known simply as the Glass Castle. Whatever the man was thinking bringing him here, he would use those very ideas against him. Plus, the Castle would serve as a fantastic place for Adinraen to start his own kingdom - one that did not so much as oppose the Devil Elf, himself, but one that was aimed at conquering the conqueror and crowning a new Devil Elf, a new King. Adinraen Barriurden.

That brought him back to the head of the man, whom had introduced himself as Novice of the Hunter Company, Legyu Xumum. He possessed admirable abilities in the realm of strength, and magicked war-hammer warfare. Of course, that was nothing when Adinraen could attack him up close or from a distance.

Adinraen looked down at the head, before bringing it up to his face. It would, even with his druidic abilities be a difficult fit for his necklace of skulls. Shrinking a head of such size could prove problematic, and time consuming. No, he would wait and see if the head of his new assassin was more worthy.

The Demon Elf walked the rest of the distance up the North Western tower steps, and stood just inside the threshold. He had no idea if his opponent was already outside, but the thought didn't bother him. A quick glance checked the twin Bones of the Devil Elf were in his Elf Metal Sheathes, and his Ring of the Devil Elf on his back. Of course, the weapon that wasn't on him was among his most hellish - the Elf Skeletonbow with Devil Hair String. He could pull it from the nature around him - in this case, the trees and shrubs, or even the mountain the castle stood on.

Cracking his neck to one side, he exited the tower and stood high above the ground below. Across the way, he suspected his hunter would enter and make himself known. Adinraen, wanting to make the proper impression by his standards, lifted the bloody head of Legyu Xumum, and held it proudly in front of him.

Let his hunter see his fallen brethren and perhaps be shaken up because of it. Whether or not the intended effect happened, be it because of the fearsome armor he was adorned in, or because of the recently deceased bodyless head, Adinraen didn't care. This was a big castle, and well - the slow stalk was always more enjoyable.

With the wind blowing his hair in a eastern direction, a sinister smile overtook his face. Blood splattered across his lips, cusing his tongue to snake out and taste it.

Come out.
Come out.
To Play.

[Impaqt]

"Mace! Mace! Llamada telefónica [Telephone Call]!", the thick Spanish accent drifted from beyond the door of Mason's bedroom. He nudged one eye open, staring into the glaring red face of his alarm clock. It read 7:47 am. He moaned in frustration, pulling his covers over himself once again. Whoever it was would have to wait. He had spent half the night in an ancient wardrobe, jumping from roof to roof, and cutting off a small time gang attempting to rob a reserve truck. Normal, right? For Mason, it was. Was it just him, or were these guys not only multiplying, but getting braver? People seemed to be going nuts lately since the breaking of the Primordial rock in Russia. He hoped Kurtis was alright. He hadn't heard from his friend since it happened. "Mace! "Despierte su extremo perezoso! [Wake up your lazy butt]."

"God! Abuela[Grandmother]! I'm up!", he yelled finally tossing the covers from his body. "Mujer loca[Crazy woman]", he muttered.

"Me enteré de que[I heard that.]", The woman yelled again. He laughed. The woman he called grandmother was an ornery old woman who had taken his family in after their move up from Mexico. As opinionated and set in her ways as she was, she was a truly caring and compassionate woman, and Mason admired that about her. "Dice que su nombre es Leeann Lichen. Es importante[Said that her name is LeeAnn Lichen. It's Important.]." He just wished the woman would learn some English. Wait. Leeann?

Mason shifted quickly from his bed, suddenly rummaging through a dresser drawer that had everything but clothes in it. "Recibí la llamada![I got the call.]", he shouted. Why was Leeann trying to get a hold of him? "I know it's in here somewhere." She had called his house phone, which meant that not only was his Hunter's Codex buried in his room somewhere, but that whatever was happening was urgent enough to warrant a call to his home's land-line.

Finally, running his finger's across a small golden bead, he picked it up, examining a horned creature embedded in it's surface. He placed the bead in his ear, and as it latched itself to the inners of his ear, a small holographic screen formed in front of his right eye. In the screen, appeared to be a white room and in the center, staring back at him was a woman wearing all white, herself. Her skin was cold and pale, only contrasted by her short black hair. It stood out in the room, but Mason couldn't argue her beauty. "Leeann." He spoke softly. "Is Aaron-"

"Aaron is ok, Mason.", The woman cut him off. Regardless of the rest of her, her voice was extremely warm and soft. Mason stammered briefly then breathed a sigh of relief. He dreaded the day that he'd get a call from Leeann about Aaron. His childhood friend worked for the organization known as the Hunter's Company. A group of agents across the Primoridal Galaxy that investigate bizarre incidents and try to stop the evil creatures that now haunted his universe. After the death of Aaron's lover, Mason couldn't stop him from joining. He helped them from time to time with rogue missions and to keep up with Aaron, but he did not trust their leader, Maistyr Dioxyl. Besides Aaron, Leeann was one of the few from the company that he would communicate with.

"What is it, then?", he asked, now confused. Leeann knew he hated working missions for the company, but she also knew if she had no other choice, Mason would do whatever he could to help.

"I'm sorry to contact you at this time of day. I realize it's still early morning there on Earth." Mason couldn't decide what it was about Leeann that he found so extremely attractive. "We have a problem though."

Here it comes, Mason thought. Another mission for the Hunter's Company. He felt a bit frustrated, but he knew it had to be bad. "What's going on?", he asked as he flicked open his closet pulling out his gear.

"In recent weeks, since the devastation on Russia soil, we've had reports coming in of- oh." Leeann's pale face couldn't hide a sudden blushing as she realize Mason began changing. Mason smiled. Staggering for a moment, she continued. "of Portals. Breaks in the universe causing gateways from one universe to the next. Luckily, we've found ways of sealing these off. However, some of them, we've simply closed off for investigation, To fix the much larger problem at hand. We've had agents investigating these portals. Late last night, we got reports of a strange castle appearing in a dark sector of Old Orleans-657. We sent in an agent to investigate. We've had great luck in getting our communications going from across portals. However, the agent we had investigate.", Her voice slowed, as she began showing obvious signs of grief. "The agent's vitals went cold. Aaron and his crew are on a Mars related mission. A lot of our other agents are dealing with the Russia fiasco right now, since other nations are refusing to get involved. You know I wouldn't ask this of you, if I had anyone else I could trust with this."

Mason, pulled open the door to his small cabin home. "Where is the closest ship?". Aaron looked up to see a large plane-like machine, descending onto his property. It's side was embedded with a horned creature. "Nevermind."

---

This ship arrived in Old Orleans-657 in no time. Mason stared down from the ship's door into an old looking castle that seemed as if it was fading in and out amongst the ruins of the Dark Sector. A once bustling city, now most of it was under water. He could hear Leeann begin to speak from the bead in his ear. "The portal is only open as the castle is visible. You'll have to time it right, to land where you need to. I'd aim for that window in the tower. The name of the agent you are looking for is Legyu Xumum. Try to bring him home safe, Mason. If you can't..." She paused. "... then bring yourself home safe."

The brown pupils of his eyes began to fade, being replaced by a rainbow like halo around his Iris.

Pulling the bow from his back, he leaped from the ship and into the early morning sky. The castle flickered back into place and Mason found himself suddenly engulfed by a wave of magic. The light of the early morning sun faded and was replaced by night. He leaned forward in his flight, landing through the open window of the tower with a roll, and a sudden shift to his feet. His arm stretched out in front of him, a line of blue prism stretching from his right hand to meet his bow in his left, sitting at eye level. He stared across the way, a green light shining in the distance. In it, he could make out the hideous form of a dark creature. In it's hand, lifting it mockingly, was the head of a Human. Legyu Xumum. "Damn it Leeann. I'm sorry."

[Rilla]

The moments ticked away as Adinraen held the decapitated head aloft, letting the blood drip down. Statuesque in his stance, the Demon Elf could have held the stance for what would seem like eternity.

Finally, however, a man holding what seemed like a bow exited the tower opposite him. Even from this distance, he could see the effect the dismembered head of Xumum had on his assassin. Adinraen tilted his head to the right, and cast a mocking smile - what effect, mentally, would it have over the course of the attempt? Would it cause the man to be hasty, for surely the company was not so hateful. Would he make mistakes? Or would he be distant, cold, and uncaring.

Observing the man they had sent second, his eyes turned towards the bow he held. This man, he surmised, was predominantly an archer and therefore a ranged fighter. There were ways to deal with such people, and that was at their own game.

Alas, from atop the tower he had nary any access to the nature below him in which to retrieve his deadly bow. It mattered little, in hindsight, as there was no chance he wouldn't be able to reach the ground and pull free his wretched weapon of death.

Casting a sidelong look at the severed head, and then pulling his eyes back to his unnamed adversary, Adinraen elected to begin their dance. His energies began to seep from him to the ground. Already his dominance was taking hold, but he could not yet make use of it. With a forest, perhaps, but this was not what he was accustomed to - no - a mountain was different, but not the polar opposite, like say Fire. He would need a few more moments.

Almost at the drop of a hat, he ducked back into the tower and hustled down the steps to the ruin below. A glance back, and the glass that wasn't glass, revealed that his opponent were now a shimmering green mass of life. Such strange properties, both advantageous and disadvantageous. He quickly withdrew one of his Bone Blades.

Two heads would be a quite nice addition to his infamous necklace of skulls.

[Impaqt]

There was nothing he could do for the man now. He stared for a moment as the creature ducked lower into the tower. As much as he wanted to end it's wretched life, he didn't belong here. The people of this dimension could deal with that thing. Mason turned toward the portal once again, opening up his Hunter's Codex. "Leeann? Leeann, you there?" For moments, there was only static on the other end.

Finally, "Mas-on." he heard her voice amongst the static. Was the communication line not strong enough? She had said they were making great strides in inter-dimensional communication. Why was it acting up now? "Th- ro- k- he- he- t- er- th- it's-" Again, the static. Mason stared into the portal, trying to make out what was going on on the other side. He could see lots of dust, which wasn't abnormal for the Dark Sector.

"Leeann! What's going on." He was growing worried. "Qué chingados!?!?!" [What the fuck], he felt almost embarrassed as it slipped. Then he noticed it, a large building collapsing almost instantly, followed by the sounds of a chopper. The plane he had rode in on, was now crashing through the portal, nearly split in half, landing just outside of the castle's wall. He looked up briefly to catch a shimmering array of colors flash before the portal and then it faded, as well as the portal. He tapped his Codex, releasing it from his ear, and pocketing it. There was nothing he could do now.

There wasn't a chance in hell, the pilots survived the ship, and he knew the only way he was gonna make it out of this place alive, was to kill the creature residing here. He grit his teeth in frustration. Whatever had happened, he couldn't let it distract him. Instead he let his Hunting instincts kick in.

He noticed, instantly, the vibrate lights in the night sky that shimmered above, and the walls that although, dark were heavily reflective like a mirror. It was a strange glass he'd never seen before, but it didn't matter, as he could use it to his advantage. The reflective surface in conjunction with his eyes let him stare throughout the castle. He could see around various corners and corridors for at least 100 feet. Among the things he saw, were waves of a bright amber color pulsing from something deep in the castle. He had to admit, he was slightly curious what could emit that kind of energy, but he wouldn't worry about that now.

Mason ducked down the stairs from the tower, drafting flow after flow of Ultra Violet Prism. It would serve two purposes. The first would effect his emotions allowing him to concentrate on the battle, and the second, it would help serve as a trap for the creature. First thing was first though. He needed to get into open space. The small corridors of the castle would not prove beneficial to him. The Courtyard or the throne room would probably be the two biggest areas, he thought.

There was something else though. He felt the distinct impression that he was being watched.

[Rilla]

His energies continued to flow around and through him, and then into the vast expanse around him. What nature manipulating, nay, dominating energies he held within him were now unleashed unto the mountain, the ruins, and everything around them that they could effect. The process would grant him domination of the nature around him, and surely, allow his abilities to come to full bloom against the man the Company had sent after him.

Adinraen chuckled as he lopped to the bottom of the stairs, clutching one of the Bones of the Devil Elf in his right hand, and the head of the decapitated Hunter in the other. Oddly symbolism, as he hadn't even used the swords to detach the head from the neck and spine, instead using the Ring of the Devil Elf to complete the dastardly deed.

As his foot touched the ground beneath him, he could feel the ever growing pulse of energies within, penetrating the ground's own natural energy, and taking it over. It wouldn't be long now before he was able to dominate the land around him. Still, a question remained, could he also manipulate this strange glass that formed the tower above and around them. He hadn't see such a material before, and knew that it would certainly come in handy if he could. Well, he wouldn't know until he tried, but now was not the time.

The wind caused his hair to dance around his head, as he ducked and ran full tilt towards a rather dilapidated set of runes. It consisted of a low wall, and three broken bits of high standing walls at varying heights. Hiding behind the largest of this, Adinraen allowed his breathing to calm, and his energies to continue to flow free of him and into the hard surface beneath.

Nature was a fickle mistress; already he could dominate the shrubbery around the land, being that it was plant based - but the mountain would take yet another moment, and the glass might take another moment still. He had little time to worry about that, the massive mountain would certainly prove more than enough to allow him sufficient material to combat, and ultimately, defeat his foe - either at range, or up close and personal.

Adinraen listened closely for the foot falls of his opponent, though he had no special hearing skills - at least not yet; the shrubs offered some, but it wasn't enough. No, the mountain would be better.

Whoever his opponent was obviously came in search of the man in his hand now, Adinraen could see it from this distance, and well, he just couldn't have that.

[Impaqt]

As Mason walked, he began piecing his plan together even further. The amount of Ultra Violet he was drafting would be more than enough, and It helped to have the lights from the night sky reflecting against the surfaces of the castle walls. If he hadn't been drafting so much Ultra-Violet, he was sure he'd think it was a magical sight. Outside the spill of blood, and glowing green creatures bent on taking off heads, and the eeriness of the castle all together, it might have been a romantic view. He imagined the castle once lit up the entire land around it with it's extravagance. Now it was only an annoyance, as it reminded him of the Black Prism. Something was surely amiss with this castle.

Mason trickled his fingers back and forth as waves of yellow lights began manifesting itself around him. He would draw on this when the time came. Going from Ultra-Violet to Yellow wasn't hard, but he could begin to tell the immediate changes to his demeanor. He smiled. This didn't change as he began to catch a glimpse of the creature off in the distance. That wasn't his main goal right now though. He turned right, pushing open a pair of large doors as he came into the throne room. Just as he had thought. The strange light he seen was obviously coming from the throne room. He let the door shut with a rather loud thump. He thought about slamming it and letting it's echo ring through the castle, but his enemy would probably realize it was a trap. To fight this creature with a taste for blood, he'd have to play the part of the prey.

Glaring at the strange item upon the throne, Mason grinned and turned back toward the door. He wasn't eager to touch some foreign object that let off a glow like that. Instead he drew an invisible arrow from the ultraviolet he had gathered, aiming it toward the door and firing, and watching as it broke, slamming against the wall. It was good to know. He knew ultra violet wouldn't be as strong as a green or blue arrow, but it would probably be able to pierce flesh easily enough still. He took in his surroundings. There was only one door coming into the room, and several large windows in the rafters. Along both sides of the room were 4 large pillars that stood up to the ceiling, standing at least 20 feet tall. He stood with a deep grin on his face. The yellow began to make him think of Aaron, as he focused on it. If there was anyone that would enjoy this, it would have been him.

---

(Nothing to do with the Fight. - Setting some stuff up. Maybe will even use this later.)

A large wooden door groaned open into a massive dungeon. In the doorway, a herculean sized man positioned himself against it's frame, staring with intent into the obscurity. His onyx colored skin made him hard to make out, except through a silhouette shaped by his form in the pale light that lingered in from the hall. Reaching back into the hall, the man jerked a torch from it's threshold, delivering it's luminosity to the room. As the flame burnished the room, a sizable cistern was exposed embedded into the ebony stone. One would not find Adam's Ale here.

Within the cistern, a thick darkness glimmered against the glow of the flame. The onyx man drew near to it's waters, finally speaking, his sunken voice reiterating itself against the walls. "It has begun. Your father has taken throne in the East."

As he finished, his words seemed to linger creating an impression of thoughtfulness. As the last echo faded, the darkness in the cistern began to tremble and from the murky tides, a figure began to rise. As it rose, even against the light, it was hard to discern as the dark waters fastened itself to the form, resisting it's slow dissent back into the cistern.

The man's eyes were fastened to the almost seductive scene of the waters almost seeming to grapple at the form's short dark hair, and then finally revealing the pale young flesh underneath. He could almost hear the yelp as it drifted past the neckline and off the face of a budding adolescent boy. It groaned and fought, and yet could not diminish it's dissent or his faithful complexion as it wrestled against his shoulder blades and stretched itself thin across the spine of his back. A faint sob cried out as it slipped down the boy's tender cheeks. Then defeat as it faltered down his legs and back into the cistern.

Then as the final drop seemed to dissipate, another form arose from the waters. This time though, the water's did not appear to scuffle to the form of this creature, but instead urgently fell away. A snake like creature veiled in bronze scales, ascended from the waters, wrapping it's course frame around the boy's right leg, crossing onto his left, and coming up across the boy's cheeks. As tender as his flesh appeared, the course scales of the snake did not seem to mar it. It rose across his stomach, it's tongue quavering across his flesh. Finally, pulling itself across the boy's chest, it's head rest on the boy's left shoulder. It's narrow beady eyes penetrating the man before them.

A soft voice danced across the darkness and it was hard to tell if it was the boy or the beast speaking. "It's time to make our presence known. The Citadel cannot be made to wait."

[Rilla]

Whether or not Mason, his yet named opponent, could feel it - the earth seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Like a great giant the mountain they stood on contracted, and expanded, as though it were a living being. Adinraen could feel these changes, as his energy finally permeated its way down to the very core of the mountain.

Like a submissive woman, the mountain was bowed to the will of Adinraen, the will of the Dominant, the will of Adinraen's Dominance. It would respond to him as though it were an extension of himself, it would ally its properties with him to some extent, making him more durable to things that would affect him normally. Fire, for instance, worked slightly worse than it would have otherwise.

But there was more; there was always more. Adinraen sheathed his sword and tied the head of Legyu to his chestplate by the hairs of his head; now was the time to prepare.

Reaching into the stone, as though it were naught more than the surface of water, Adinraen pulled out one of his fearsome weapons. The SkeletonBow with the Devil Hair String, and along with it, a quiver full of twenty arrows. The magic of his dominance allowed him to pull his weapon free from the nature around him. The bow was a gruesome piece of equipment and had pierced plenty a foe, bringing them to their knees from a distance. After all, the Devil's Greatest Trick was convincing the world he didn't exist.

The arrows, settled in the quiver, which he slung across his back, were tipped with the rock of the very mountain itself. Compressed and folded upon itself to form not only an arrowhead, but one capable of piercing the heart of man and beast. The mountain itself lended its strength, perhaps making the arrows much stronger than if they were made of the forest, which would have made them faster, or of fire which would have made them burn. No, Earth was for the strong - Adinraen was strong - his Dominance demanded Strength.

Adinraen's game could now begin in earnest. This foe, this member of the Hunter's Company, was a trespasser in the castle he had claimed for himself - and now he had to be dealt with. Adinraen began to prepare his earthen magic, focusing on the breathing of the Earth. He bothered not to look for his opponent, whom based on what the Earth was telling him, was somewhere within the walls of the castle itself.

Was there something that had drawn the man into the deep, instead of out towards Adinraen the man who held the head of his comrade?

Adinraen did not know the abilities of his opponent, though he surmised he was some kind of Bow Wielder. Would he be a marksmen of Adinraen's caliber?

The Devil Elf reached up and thumbed an arrow's end, feeling the sharp, yet flexible 'feathers' that made it up. They, of course, weren't feathers of a traditional sense, but rock that had been molded. With a deep breath, Adinraen pulled free the arrow and examined it. Perfect, he thought.

He dashed back towards the castle, arrow in one hand, bow in the other. Time to go hunting. The Earth would act as ears and eyes.

Draw them out.

[Impaqt]

Mason stood perplexed by an eerie hum that seemed to pervade his mind as he conditioned himself in silence to what was going on throughout the castle. The strange tide of colors in this place was making him feel... something he couldn't explain. He had never been in a place like this, in a thought like this. He could think clearer, and the race of his heart in the battle seemed to steady. Mason was almost enjoying himself. Still, he was focused, his eyes twitching left and right, following reflecting colors that bounced to and fro on the dark walls.

His breathing began to steady more than it had previously been, and a strange occurrence began. His hands were covered in a white substance that felt almost like silk. He had drafted white before, but on rare occurrences. He wasn't even sure how to use it. Nothing in all his text and even his mother's knowledge could put any certainty on what it was that this White Prism was and does. He was sure this place had something to do with it. Moments passed and his hands dripped a thick orange. It dripped onto the floor, spreading up and across the walls of the room. He wasn't even sure if this was him anymore or something else. It didn't matter though. The battle was coming. This could work, he thought to himself.